Heart or Blood?
by QueenLavenderEyes
Summary: Rusty has a hard choice ahead of him...
1. Chapter 1

Heart or Blood?

It was quiet in the Major Crimes squad room for once. The squad had no cases to work so the team were all at their desks just passing the time.

Sharon Raydor stood at the door to her office and watched the team as they talked quietly among themselves. After seven months of working together as a team everyone was finally starting to get along which was a relief because she just couldn't take the bickering anymore.

Sharon looked at her watch as she wondered what was keeping Rusty. It was getting late and Rusty should have made it to Major Crimes at least twenty minutes ago.

It was as that thought passed through her head that Sharon finally heard the door to the room open. Straightening up she looked towards the hallway and saw Rusty heading in her direction.

Grinning at her through his messy hair (which she really wanted to get cut but wasn't willing to fight about) he apologized and explained that there was a large crowd downstairs so it took him forever to get through them.

Sharon wondered what was happening downstairs but since it didn't really concern her she brushed the thought aside. Putting her hand on his shoulder she gave him small smile.

She gestured to Rusty to head into office to do his homework but before he could walk past her a voice called out his name from behind him.

Turning, Rusty was shocked to see a pretty blond woman heading towards him.

"Mom?"

Everyone in the squad turned around to look at the woman but she did not seem to care about them. Looking at Raydor's hand on Rusty's shoulder the woman glared at her as she came up to stand beside Rusty.

Looking from woman to woman as they squared off Rusty had a feeling that his life was about to get a bit more complicated.


	2. Trouble

**Heart or Blood 2**

Soon after Rusty's mother appeared in the squad room Provenza and Flynn escorted her to the interrogation room. As they sat down Sharon Beck looked around the room and sneered.

"So where is the woman that had her hand on my son?" she asked, anger evident in her voice.

"Captain Raydor felt that it would cause fewer problems if we questioned you." Flynn answered/

"I don't see what you need to question me about. I just can to get my son and as soon as I get his stuff we're going home."

"I'm afraid things aren't going to be that easy for you. Thanks to your…past the judge would have to give you permission. So for now Rusty will being staying where he is." Provenza sat back in his chair.

Apparently this was not the answer the Sharon Beck wanted to hear.

"Where is he staying now? I'm sure that Rusty would be better off with me rather than staying with some stranger."

"He's not staying with a stranger. Rusty has been living at Captain Raydor's apartment for some time now. Now if we could get back…" Flynn began before he was cut off.

"He's staying with that woman! That is unacceptable to me. I demand that Rusty be taken out of that woman's house. She's not his mother, I am and I expect to have my son brought to me right now!" Sharon Beck slammed her hand on the table.

Flynn and Provenza, seeing that Sharon Beck was not going to cooperate with them, got up and left the room.

Once they closed the door Provenza glanced at Flynn in disbelief.

"She actually thinks we're just going to hand Rusty over to her! That woman is delusional."

"Yeah. And I think she views Raydor as some sort of completion for Rusty. I get the feeling that this is going to turn into a war before long"

Shaking their heads Flynn and Provenza went back to the squad room to warn Raydor to watch her back.

Both of them thinking about how poor Rusty is going to get out of this situation.


	3. Heartache and Indecision

**Heart or Blood?**

"Are you alright, Rusty?" Raydor asked as they stood in her office. Rusty failed to answer as he quickly glanced in the direction of the interrogation room.

A hand on his shoulder made Rusty turn to look at the woman who had treated him so well over the past year. As happy as Rusty was to see his mother there was a small part of him that wished that she had never shown up again. Rusty just couldn't figure out if that part was bigger than the part that wanted to go with his mother.

"She's in trouble, isn't she? I mean, after the last time we heard from her?" Rusty mumbled, trying to give himself more time.

"Yes. But not as bad as you might think since the only thing against here was not coming to you. At least the money's not going to be held against her." Sharon sighed as she went around the desk to sit down.

Looking at Rusty proved to be difficult for Sharon. It felt like the situation with Daniel all over again, only this time she had already lost Rusty. How could she compete with the mother he loved so much? The thought of losing Rusty hurt her but Sharon knew that she had to do what was best for Rusty no matter how much it hurt her.

The two of them sat in the office lost in their own thoughts until a knock broke the silence.

When Provenza and Flynn opened the door they were not surprised to see Rusty sitting in front of the desk. Flynn glanced at Provenza with uncertainty but Provenza focused on Raydor.

"We tried to talk to Ms. Beck but it didn't go too well."

Raydor looked at Rusty for a moment but she knew that he deserved to hear everything.

"What happened?"

"We tried to tell her about the judge and how she was not going to get custody right away. That made her mad of course but it only got worse when she found out where Rusty is staying right now. Apparently she noticed your hand on Rusty's shoulder and now she considers you a rival or something. Ms. Beck demanded that we find another place for Rusty to stay." Flynn answered.

As Flynn stopped talking Rusty looked to the ground. Flynn and Provenza glanced at each other in surprise because they both thought that Rusty would protest against being taken out of the Captain's home.

But neither of them missed the look of pain that crossed Raydor's face.

"I'm afraid that taking Rusty out of my home is not possible right now. I have custody right now even if she does not like it. I will talk to her to try to make her understand that I'm not a rival but while I do could one of you get in touch with a judge so that we can get into court sooner rather than later?"

Raydor asked as she came around her desk. At the men's nod she sent them on their way but before leaving she looked back at Rusty but he didn't look up.

Raydor could feel him slipping away from her already.


	4. The offer

Heart or Blood 4

The soft opening of the door drew Sharon Becks attention towards the door which meant that Raydor was greeting with a glare as soon as she came in.

"Hello Ms. Beck, I'm Sharon Raydor. We've talked on the phone before. I thought that we should talk before bringing Rusty to you." Raydor stated as she sat down at the table.

"I have no interest in talking to you. Just bring me my son and get the paperwork started for me to get custody back." Sharon Beck snapped.

It took a minute for Raydor to keep her temper under control. She didn't know why the woman was so angry with her but for Rusty's sake she had to at least try to keep things civil.

"I understand that you wish to custody back but for now that isn't possible. The judge will have to rule on that. But it might make things easier for Rusty if we could settle any issues. I …understand that you want Rusty taken out of my home and put somewhere else. But that would not be a good idea since it would confuse the custody issue. I do want you to understand that I am not competition…"

"I know." Suddenly Sharon Beck was as cold as ice. "I've kept close tabs on my son and I've notice that you and your team have gotten quite close to Rusty. Now that Daniel is out of the picture I'm the only thing that could make things difficult if you decided to adopt him. So I thought that I should come here so that we could work out an arrangement."

"An arrangement?" Raydor's face was blank but inside she felt sick. She had a feeling that she knew what sort of arrangement that Sharon wanted.

"Yes. I happen to know that you come from a wealthy family so I want eight thousand dollars. You give me my money and I'll give up my rights to Rusty so that you can have him."

"What would you tell Rusty?"

"I'll tell him that he's better off with you."

Raydor couldn't stand it.

"He's your son! How could you come here and basically sell him to me?"

"Because I have no use for him and you do. I'll give you some time to think over my offer. I'm going to my hotel. I've already given family services my number so if you need to speak to me…"

With a smile Sharon Beck left the break room, leaving Raydor staring at the wall in horror.

Rusty sat in the squad rooming thinking about the events of the day. Seeing his mother just when he was sure that he found a home with Sharon pushed him off balance. His confusion was just made worse by the fact that he was not sure that he wanted to leave. Even while on the street Rusty's loyalty was always to his mother but now it was not so simple.

While Rusty was lost in his thoughts the team watched him struggle. Finally Provenza stood up and went to the boy.

"Nice to see your mother again, isn't it Rusty?"

Rusty turned to Provenza but he looked anything but happy.

"Yeah. It's great."

Sykes jumped into the conversation.

"Maybe you could go to dinner or something. It might be nice to get to know your mother again.

"I'd be happy to take you both to dinner. Especially since it didn't work out last time. "Flynn volunteered.

Then, realizing what he said, Flynn winced.

But before anyone could say anything Sharon Beck came into the room.

"Rusty, I'm going to go to my hotel room now but I wanted to stop by to give you my number. Maybe if Raydor will let me I'll take you out to dinner tomorrow. Is that ok?" Sharon's smile was sweet but the team had the feeling that something was amiss.

"Sure. I'll talk to Sharon about it. Flynn's volunteered to take us out so it's not going to be hard to arrange."

Sharon Beck's eyes narrowed at Rusty's use of Raydor's name but she just wrote down her number on a piece of paper. Nodding her head at the rest of the team Sharon left the room, passing Raydor on the way in.

Rusty sat there in his seat, staring at the piece of paper in his hand. This was lucky for Raydor because she wasn't sure that she could hold it together if he looked at her.

But the team could tell that something had happened between Sharon Beck and their Captain.


	5. Drawing away

**Heart or Blood 5**

A few days later Rusty went out to dinner with his mother and Flynn. Just before leaving with Flynn Rusty turned back, about to ask Sharon if she wanted to come to dinner as well. But she sat at her desk working on paperwork and just tossed a goodbye over her shoulder as she changed pages.

He knew it was wrong of him but since his mother arrived it had like Raydor just didn't care anymore. She had become distant and Rusty wondered if she was just ready to get rid of him.

They met Sharon Beck at a restaurant two blocks down from Raydor's apartment and as soon as Rusty got out of the car Sharon pulled him into a hug. As the three of them waited for a table Sharon alternated between telling Rusty about all the things that had happened to her since she last saw her and flirting with Flynn, who looked very uncomfortable with the situation.

All Rusty could think about was the fact that Raydor would have been asking about how he had been. Of course she would never have abandoned her real children in the first place so it was a moot point.

When Sharon finally asked Rusty about how his life was going it took him a moment to gather his thoughts.

He started to tell her about life was living with Raydor but something in Sharon's eyes told him that she didn't want to hear it. So instead he told her about all the friends that he had made and how great school was now that he was used to it. Rusty didn't know why but he had the feeling that she wasn't happy that he seemed to be doing well without her.

He also told her about the chess team and how he had been in a few competitions but Sharon waved this away.

"Chess? How very …..upper class of you. No doubt that Ms. Raydor was the one to force you into the game."

Flynn looked up from his dinner about to say something but Rusty shook his head.

"No, Sharon had nothing to do with me joining the team. I like chess so I joined the team at school."

"You call Ms. Raydor by her first name?" The thought seemed to make her angry for some reason.

Rusty was at a loss for words so Flynn decided to speak up.

"Yes. Rusty calls most of us by our first names. Everyone on the team considers him part of the family so…"

"Rusty is not part of your family, he is a part of mine. Obviously this environment is teaching my son things that he shouldn't be learning if he plays chess and calls strangers by their first names. I'll have to make sure that the judge knows that he would be better off with me."

Flynn looked at Rusty but Rusty just looked at his dinner. In his head he knew that he was not better off with her but if Raydor didn't want him anymore than what else did he have? And something about the way his mother was acting bothered Rusty but he just couldn't figure out what.

After that brief conversation Sharon Beck went back to talking about herself but this time no one was listening.

Sharon Raydor gave a deep sigh as Rusty walked out the door with Flynn.

The conversation that she had with Ms. Beck still bothered Sharon but she couldn't figure out what she should do.

Sharon had promised to never lie or keep things from Rusty but how could she tell him that his mother was willing to sell her rights to him away? Not to mention the fact that she still wasn't sure about the deal.

Should she pay so that she could keep Rusty or should she allow an unfit mother to take away the boy she loved so much?

If she did pay then Raydor would have to borrow money from the rest of the family first. While she did have money saved away it was not enough.

Raydor was also not sure that Rusty even wanted to stay with her anymore. He had been drawing away for the past few days so Sharon was not sure where she stood with him.

It made sense though since Rusty loved his mother so much.

The idea of losing Rusty made Sharon want to cry but she had to what was best for Rusty.

Now if she could just figure out what that was…..


	6. Truth or Lies

**Heart or Blood 6**

A week had passed since Rusty had dinner with his mother the first time.

The distance between Raydor and Rusty had only grown larger as each day passed (or at least that's how it felt to Raydor).

But after thinking hard about Sharon Beck's offer and what it meant for Rusty Raydor finally decided that it would be best to tell him everything.

For the entire day Raydor watched the door, dreading the conversation that she would have to have with Rusty that night. After stopping at Rusty's favorite restaurant for a silent and uncomfortable dinner they headed home.

As soon as they put all of their things on the table Raydor finally broached the topic.

"Rusty, could you sit down please?" Raydor asked softly.

Her tone told Rusty that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation but he sat down anyway.

"Rusty, I'm not sure how to tell you this. Please remember that I'm on your side and that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Raydor took a deep breath.

"The first day that your mother arrived I had a conversation with her. I wanted to make sure that we would get along for your sake. But while I was having this conversation with her she... made me an offer. She told me that if I paid her then she would give up her parental rights to you so that I could adopt you."

Rusty just looked at her in shock.

"You're lying! My mother would never do that to me. She came back for me so that we could be a family and you're just trying to ruin it!"

Rusty got up from the table and started pacing. He couldn't believe that Raydor would say such horrible things about his mother. But a small part of him knew that she wouldn't lie to him and it made him even angrier.

"I'm not lying about this Rusty. As much as it hurts I promised to tell you everything and I felt that you needed to know about this."

"Yeah right. You don't care about me at all. I'd think you'd be happy to get rid of me."

Rusty started to head toward his room but before he got too far he turned for one last shot.

"I hate you."

The slamming of his door hid the sob that Raydor couldn't hide.

The car ride to school was quiet the next morning.

Raydor spent the entire day with Rusty's words echoing in her head.

The rest of the squad could tell that something was wrong but the glares that Raydor sent their way made it clear that questions would not be tolerated.

But they all noticed that around the time Rusty should have arrived from school was right around the time when she started glancing at door every few minutes.

Rusty never appeared though.

After a while Cynthia came into the squad room and gestured for Raydor. They went into Raydor's office and once the door was closed Raydor turned to the other woman.

"Rusty came to see me about an hour ago. He's asked to be taken from your home and to live with his mother."


	7. Dreamscape

**Heart or Blood 7**

Rusty's request hurt Raydor but that didn't matter to the courts.

So a few days after Rusty made his request the court allowed Sharon Beck to take Rusty for the weekend followed by a trip to the beach (though Raydor had to come for that one).

When Rusty finally got to Sharon's hotel room for his weekend visit he was relieved to be away from Raydor. After his outburst things became strained between them so it would be nice to get away from that.

Sharon showed Rusty his hotel room and let him put his stuff down before dragging him out of the hotel. They spent the entire day shopping and Rusty knew that he should be having a good time with his mother even if she only wanted to talk about herself.

But every time he looked at his mother all Rusty could think about was what Raydor had said about Mrs. Beck's offer.

Raydor had promised to never lie to him and Rusty couldn't shake the feeling that she was still on his side, even if what she said hurt.

To close out their day the pair headed to a nice restaurant near the hotel where they sat talking (about her of Couse) and eating anything that Sharon thought looked good.

When they got back to the hotel Rusty was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

_ Rusty opened his eyes looked around the room._

_He was standing in a long white hall that Rusty was sure he had never been in before but that was not what caught his attention._

_Standing at one was his mother, blond hair flying out as she laughed at something. Nothing was around her that Rusty could see but she seemed to be talking to someone._

_But she hadn't even noticed that Rusty was there._

_Uncomfortable, Rusty turned around and was surprised to see Raydor standing at the other end of the hall. Unlike his mother Raydor had noticed that he was there._

_She sat in one of the chairs that they used at work just looking at Rusty with a companionate look on her face._

_There was nothing else in her end of the hall._

_Looking between the two women Rusty was struck by how different they were and how they acted around him._

_The woman that had given birth to him, the one he loved so much, the one that should be taking care of him wasn't even paying any attention to him._

_The woman that had done so much for him and had been treated badly in return was paying attention. _

_He could see the love in her eyes._

_Rusty kept looking back and forth between them, unsure of what he should do._

_Then everything disappeared in a flash of white…._

Rusty woke up with a start, unsure of what woke him up.

Then he heard his mother banging on the door telling him to get ready for another fun day of shopping.

Needless to say that Rusty didn't really enjoy himself too much and he was glad when they got back to the hotel.

Ms. Beck let Rusty into her room while she went to talk to a guy down the hall so Rusty had a chance to catch his breath.

While sitting on the bed Rusty looked around the room thinking about all the hotel rooms that he had been in with his mother.

But then he noticed a folder peeking out from his mother's suitcase.

Rusty got up to get it, glancing at the door for his mother.

Opening it to the first page Rusty was surprised to see Raydor's picture looking out at him. Rifling through the papers he realized that this folder was filled with articles and paperwork about Raydor.

Though the paperwork seemed to focus mostly on how wealthy her family was.

Looking through the paperwork Rusty realized that this was proof of what Raydor tried to tell him.

His mother just wanted to sell him to Raydor.

She didn't care about him at all.

Just then Rusty heard the door open and he looked up to see his mother walk through the door with the man from down the hall.

Sharon stopped, seeing Rusty with the folder. As he stared at her Sharon's face became angry.

"How dare you go through my things?"

"You don't want me, do you mom? All I am is a way to get at Raydor's money."

Rusty stared at his mother. He wanted her to explain the folder and tell him that she wanted him but he knew that it would just be lies.

"Don't be ridiculous. Now go back to your room and get really for the beach tomorrow."

Rusty pushed past his mother and the man behind her and went to his room.

Lying down on the bed Rusty thought about how mean he had been to Raydor and how he was going to ask for forgiveness the next day.

He just hoped that she would forgive him.


	8. The savior

**Heart or Blood 8**

The next day Rusty woke up to his mother pounding on the door and demanding that he come to breakfast. Rusty's mother was snappish and irritated so Rusty stayed quiet about what he had found the night before.

All Rusty could think about was how he was going to apologize to Raydor for how he had acted towards her. Apologizing was not something that he was used to so he wasn't sure about how he was going to say what he needed to say.

When they finally reached the beach Rusty was surprised to see the entire squad standing with Raydor next to an ice cream stand. Sykes and Tao were eating ice cream cones while the rest of the team stood there laughing at them.

Raydor saw where Rusty's was looking so she explained that the team had missed him so they came along too. They shared a grin because they both new that the team had just come for the beach.

Ms. Beck was about to say something to Raydor but before she could get the words out Flynn came over to greet Rusty. As soon as she saw Flynn Sharon got very flirty and pushed Rusty out of the way.

This was ok for Rusty because it gave him a chance to talk to Raydor privately.

"Hey, Sharon. I…uh….wanted to talk to you about how I acted before…."

"Guys, Let's go walk down the pier!" Sharon Beck bounced up to Rusty, grabbed his arm and dragged him down the pier.

"I'd rather not. I can't swim so being that close to the water makes me nervous." But that didn't deter his mother.

Of course the minute that they got to the end of the pier Sharon Beck went back to ignoring her son in favor of Flynn. Apparently she thought that the water was romantic but she was not willing to leave Rusty alone with Raydor.

Raydor and the rest of the team followed them after a few moments.

Standing at the end of the pier Rusty looked down at the water. This was the main reason why Rusty didn't notice the young boy that was barreling towards him at high speed. A shout from Raydor warned him that something was wrong but he didn't have enough time to get out of the way.

With a cry the boy smacked into Rusty, knocking him into the water below. Struggling, Rusty attempted to get back to the surface but he couldn't. Feeling something around his leg, Rusty looked down and saw some kind of green plant wrapped around his leg.

Rusty couldn't breathe and he was starting to panic when he felt someone grab him from behind. Looking behind him Rusty saw Raydor trying to keep ahold of him as his vision went black.

Rusty felt something pushing at his chest but he couldn't speak or see anything around him. But finally the liquid in his throat started coming up and he could feel someone pushing him onto his side as he gagged.

As he coughed Rusty opened his eyes and saw a soaked Raydor sitting next to him, missing her glasses.

Rusty smiled at her but he knew there was something important that he needed to say.

"My…. mother was a swimming …champion when she was in high school. She…..used to brag…."

The statement sounded random to most of the team surrounding Rusty but he could tell that Raydor understood what he was trying to say.

"I…want to go home."

Spent, Rusty started to black out but before his world went completely black he felt Raydor's hand on his face.

"Don't worry, Rusty. Everything's going to be ok."


	9. Horrible mothers

**Heart or Blood 9**

Sharon Raydor hated hospitals with a passion that would have shocked her coworkers.

It was not because she hated being a patient, mind you. That she could stand because she understood that it was necessary to get better.

What Sharon hated about hospitals was waiting to hear about the people she loved when they were sick or hurt.

Raydor sat alone in one of the uncomfortable chairs waiting for the doctors to come back with news about Rusty. Since he had stopped breathing for a few minutes and then he went unconscious the doctors said that they needed to do some scans to make sure he was ok.

All Sharon could think about was all of the things that could have gone wrong that day and how close she had come to losing Rusty.

And how Sharon Beck could have helped her son.

Looking over at the Major Crimes squad, Sharon was not surprised to see Ms. Beck practically throwing herself at Flynn. The galls of the woman to be flirting when her son was in the hospital made Sharon want to punch her but she held back.

Just then the doctor that had taken over Rusty came back into the room. His entrance causes everybody to look up and rush over to see if Rusty was ok.

Looking at the chart in his hands the doctor asked who was in charge of Rusty's care. Sharon Beck jumped to the front, insisting that she was the one who should be deciding how Rusty was taken care of but Raydor ignored her. Raydor assured the doctor that she was Rusty's guardian so she would be the one to make any decisions for him.

Raydor could see Sharon Becks glare but the doctor accepted the argument without question because of the badge he could see on her belt.

The doctor told everyone that Rusty had tested out just fine but just in case they wanted to keep him in for observation.

Then, with a nod to Raydor, he went back into the doctor's office while everyone else on the team headed home.

"You had no right to take over. I'm Rusty's mother, even if the judge hasn't given me back custody yet." Sharon Beck snapped at Raydor. While she didn't particularly care which way the doctor decided to take of Rusty, Sharon Beck couldn't stand that this horrible woman had more say than she did.

Sharon didn't know what it was about Raydor that bothered her the most.

The fact that she came from money.

The fact that everything was so easy for her.

The fact that Rusty, her own son, seemed to care more about Raydor than he did his own mother.

Or was it the way that Raydor looked at her like Raydor was so much better than Sharon.

It didn't matter anyways as long as Sharon got her money.

"This nonsense is getting out of hand. I want an answer to my offer about custody of Rusty now. Are you getting me my money or not?"

""No I am not." Raydor stated. "As much as I want Rusty to stay with me it would be illegal. We're going to let the judge decide where Rusty is going to live. And for his sake I really hope that it's not with you. "

Raydor shook her head as she turned around to head to Rusty's room but a moment later she turned back around.

"Why didn't you jump in to save Rusty? He said that you were part of your school's swim team years ago so you know how to swim. Why didn't you save him?"

"Jump in and ruin my clothes?" Sharon Beck shrugged." Rusty would have figured out how to swim on his own even if you hadn't pretended to be a hero."

Raydor just stared at her in horror.

"You are a horrible mother and I will do everything in my power to make sure that you never get custody of Rusty."

Raydor turned and rushed down the hall towards Rusty's room. She knew that if she didn't Sharon Beck would soon be on the floor with a broken nose.

"You'll regret that decision soon enough you entitled little….." Sharon Beck muttered as she went out the hospital door.

Raydor knocked on the door to Rusty's room quietly before she opened the door. Rusty was still sleeping so Raydor didn't want to wake him up just because she wanted to see him.

Looking at how peaceful he looked while he was sleeping made Raydor feel even worse about the conversation that she had with his mother. She wanted to protect him so much but Raydor knew that she couldn't do anything.

The judge was the one that would decide on this issue. Though Rusty did have some influence on how the judge would end up ruling.

Now if only she knew which home Rusty had been thinking of when he said he wanted to go home.


	10. Planning things out

**Heart or Blood 10**

It took a few days for Rusty to be released from the hospital because the doctors wanted to be sure he was ok which gave him time to think.

The drive back to Raydor's apartment was quiet since both Rusty and Raydor were thinking about their situation.

No matter how Rusty tried to push away the knowledge, the fact that his mother would have let him drown ate at him.

He knew that she was not the perfect t mother but even after all that she had put him through Rusty had still thought she loved him. Rusty had told Raydor that he had let go of his mother after the bus station but truthfully he had still refused to see Sharon Beck for who she was.

But now he could see her for what she really was. Now the only question was how to avoid living with her.

Rusty knew that the courts were leaning towards Sharon Beck because she was his mother but he also knew that there was one thing that he could do to make sure that she never got custody again.

It would just require pretending to still believe in her.

Raydor kept glancing at Rusty as they finally walked through the door.

She couldn't help but think about Rusty's request to go home and whether he had meant this apartment.

And the conversation with Sharon Beck was still bothering her as well. Raydor knew that Sharon Beck was going to fight to gain custody of Rusty now that Raydor had refused her offer.

It was kind of sad that the only reason Sharon Beck wanted Rusty now was to spite Raydor.

Raydor also knew that if the courts found out about the deal Sharon tried to make with Raydor then that would be enough for them to decide to keep Rusty from his mother.

Of course that didn't matter because Raydor didn't have proof of the deal and she still didn't know where Rusty wanted to be.

After the swimming comment that he made before he went unconscious Raydor thought that he had finally seen his mother for the monster she was but he hadn't said anything about it since then.

Maybe he had made up excuses for his mother and decided he belonged with her.

He didn't belong with Sharon Beck.

He belonged with her.

Now if only she could convince him and the courts of that….


	11. Pain

**Heart or Blood 11**

A few days after the trip (and the hospital visit) Rusty decided to put his plan in motion.

After school he came into the squad room to find the entire team sitting around. Apparently they had solved their case so now the team had nothing to do but paperwork.

Since he needed to talk to Raydor this suited Rusty just fine.

He knew where Sharon would be so Rusty headed straight to her office, nodding at the team as he passed by.

Rusty knocked on the door, dreading the conversation that he was about to have. He knew that it would hurt Sharon but it was the only way for his plan to work.

When Sharon spoke up Rusty entered and closed the door behind him.

Her face lit up when she saw him walk towards his chair but the smile went away at the serious look on his face.

"I…was just wondering when the judge was going to let me stay with my mother again." Rusty mumbled, not looking at Raydor.

He missed the look of pain that crosses her face.

"Well nothing happened on the last trip except the pier accident so he would more than likely let you stay with her soon."

The wounded tone in her voice almost made Rusty tell her what he was really after but he knew that she would not approve.

"I'd like that. Staying with her reminded me of how it used to be so I'd like to go again. Could you arrange it for me?"

"Sure. It might take a few days again but you'll be back with your mother in no time" Sharon said in her best upbeat voice.

"Thanks."

Rusty stood up and headed towards the door but he made the mistake of looking at Sharon first.

She looked heartbroken.

As Rusty closed the door and headed to his cubicle Sharon stared at her desk.

She had hoped that Rusty was talking about her apartment when he said that he wanted to go home but apparently he wasn't.

It made sense in a way. Sharon Beck was his mother and he loved her so why wouldn't he want to live with her?

Other than the fact that she didn't take care of him and the whole selling him to Raydor thing.

Of course Rusty didn't believe her about the offer so Sharon guessed that it didn't count to him.

The thought of losing Rusty cut into Sharon's heart and she felt the need to cry.

It was even worse than it had been with Dunn because at least she had thought he was going to a good home before Dunn hit Rusty.

Raydor knew that Sharon Beck was not suited to being a mother and that Rusty would end up in trouble if he went with her.

She just hoped that the judge would eventually see that as well.

"Captain?"

Provenza's voice brought Sharon back into the present.

"Yes, Provenza?" Sharon hoped that her voice was even but she could tell that he knew something was wrong.

"We just caught a new case but….."

"But?"

"Is there something wrong? With Rusty, I mean." Provenza stammered. He knew that something was bothering her but he couldn't figure out how to ask about it.

"Of course not. Now brief me on the case on the way to the crime scene."

Raydor stood up and gathered her belongings as Provenza stood at the door.

He knew that there was no point in pushing the issue with Raydor so he kept quiet.

As Sharon followed Provenza towards the door of the division she couldn't help but glace at Rusty's cubicle.

She couldn't see him but she knew he was more than likely slouched in the chair reading a book about chess. She smiled at the thought but the smile quickly faded as she thought of the situation that she was in.

Raydor knew that she should be thinking about what was best for Rusty right now.

But all Raydor could think about is what she would do if she lost him.


	12. Views

Heart or Blood 12

It took a few days for Rusty and Raydor to hear back about Rusty spending more time with his mother but once he did Rusty started planning.

First he went to the store to buy candy and anything else he thought that his mother would like. It was important to his plan that his mother think that he still wanted to stay with her.

At first Rusty couldn't see how he could get away from his mother. He knew that Raydor had no control over what was happening so it was up to Rusty to fix things.

He decided that the best way to do this would be to get his hands on the file that his mother had on Raydor. He was not sure but it would at least help the judge see what his mother was really like.

But first he had to get that file.

Unfortunately that also meant that he would have to make Raydor believe that he wanted to stay with his mother as well.

Rusty knew that the way that he was acting was hurting Raydor but it was the only way that his mother would believe that he had forgiven her for the offer that she had made to Raydor.

So he kept quiet about his plan while he was packing.

Once he got to his mother's hotel room Rusty gave her the presents that he had bought for her.

Just as he thought his mother ate up the attention and decided that she could overlook the fact that he looked through the file.

But for the rest of the day Sharon Beck kept a close eye on Rusty so he didn't have the chance to get the file from her bag.

It would take some acting on his part but eventually she would have to trust him. He would just have to play along as she used him to hit on the men around her.

Now if she would give him a chance at the file….

As soon as Raydor got home from dropping Rusty off she went to her room and lay down on her bed.

The stress of the situation had been bothering her for almost two days and the headache that followed it was not helping the situation. Everything that was happening was starting to be a little much for her and Raydor could feel herself getting sick.

She was just glad that things at work had finally calmed down enough for her to get her bearings back.

Even Provenza was being nice to her (though that was a small source of worry for her).

It was a sign of Raydor's distress that it actually took a few minutes for her to realize that she was crying.

Sharon wasn't sure when she had become so attached to Rusty.

When he had first come to stay with her Raydor had known that he would eventually leave her to ether go to his mother or to another family. She had tried to keep her emotions from getting tied to him but she just couldn't seem to do it.

Maybe it was the pained look in his eyes that appears sometimes.

Sharon had always had a weakness for people in need.

But for some reason she just couldn't let him go.

And for the life of her she couldn't find a legal way to keep Rusty.

Finally, after a few hours, Raydor fell asleep thinking of how her life had changed.

Everything was ok in Sharon Beck's world.

Rusty was at her side again ready to do what he was supposed to be doing, taking care of her.

Raydor had been put in her place by Rusty choosing his mother over Raydor.

And all the men in the hotel were hers for the taking.

Now all she had to do was wait for the judge to give Rusty back to her so that they could leave this horrible town and Raydor.

Sharon would have rather have had Raydor's money but since that was not going to be happening she would have to take Rusty instead. Sticking it to the woman would almost be worth the trouble of dealing with Rusty again.

Though Rusty seemed to have learned a useful new skill while he was away from her so at least he could bring money in.

Smiling at the man next to her, Sharon Beck thought about how great it was going to be to see the look on Raydor's face once the judge gave Rusty to her.


	13. Using the liquor

**Heart or blood 13**

Rusty was starting to get nervous.

The court date to decide who he was going to live with was coming up in a few days and Rusty had still not managed to get the proof he needed about his mother.

Without that the entire issue would be decided by a judge and Rusty just didn't trust the judge to make the right decision.

So Rusty decided that it was time to go to plan B.

Rusty was spending the weekend with his mother so wouldn't be too difficult to implement his plan.

If his mother wouldn't trust him to be alone in her hotel room long enough to find the file then he would just have to do it the one fashioned way.

By getting her so drunk that she would fall asleep.

"Hey mom, don't look now but there's a guy looking at you from the hotel bar." Rusty gagged at himself but luckily his mother had turned to look.

"Hmmm. He is fine, isn't he? But I have to look out for you tonight. Maybe once this court thing is done…." Sharon Beck didn't look pleased at having to give up her fun to Rust pressed his advantage.

He knew that it wouldn't take much to convince her to go to the bar.

"You should go. I'll be fine by myself since I'm just going to go to my room and sleep. Besides, you should have some fun."

It took a moment for Sharon to think about Rusty's arguments but eventually she decided.

"You're right. I deserve to have some fun tonight. Now go up to your room and let mommy go hunting."

She pushed him towards the elevators.

As soon as the doors closed he grinned to himself.

Using the extra keycard that he had swiped from his mother, Rusty got into her room.

He headed straight towards her suitcases, confident that he would file the file in one of them.

But after twenty minutes of looking Rusty had to admit that the file was not within ether of the suitcases.

Rusty sat down on the bed and looked around the room.

He knew that his mother wouldn't have thrown out the file just in case Raydor changed her mind so the only question was where she would hide it.

Then it came to him.

When he lived with his mom she would often hide her drugs underneath the air conditioner when she was worried that someone would come into the room.

Rusty wasn't sure there was enough room under the air conditioner in the room but he figured it was worth a time.

And to his surprise the file was exactly where he thought it would be.

He didn't know how she managed it but somehow she got the file wedged in enough that it couldn't be seen unless you knew it was there.

"Gotcha"

The next day Rusty woke up early and called a taxi using the money that Raydor had given him for emergencies.

He had looked up the address of the judge that would be trying his case the night before so he gave the driver the address.

It took ten minutes for Rusty to get to the house.

Even though it was really early in the morning Rusty could see the outlines of two people in the kitchen window.

Walking up the steps was easy for Rusty but when it came time to knock on the door Rusty would that it was the hardest thing he had ever done.

Everything inside of Rusty was telling him that he was better off with Raydor but he couldn't help feeling sad about his mother.

Pushing through the thoughts of his mother, Rusty knocked on the door.

A blond woman answered a few moments later.

"Hello?" She said, looking at him warily.

"Hi. My name's Rusty Beck. I'm looking for Judge Collows."

Rusty's name brought Judge Collows to the door.

"You're the boy from one of my cases. What are you doing here at my house?"

"I have some information that I think you need to see before you make your decision about my case. And I think you need to hear the truth about my mother as well."

Judge Collows looked at Rusty for a moment but he seemed to realize that Rusty was telling the truth so he invited Rusty in.

Rusty hesitated before he came in the door.

He turned in the direction of the hotel like he could see his mother despite the distance.

"I'm sorry mom."


	14. The Judge

**Heart of Blood 14**

Court day had finally arrived for Rusty's case.

After Rusty spoke with the judge he went back to the hotel, terrified that his mother would wake up before he got there.

But the worry was proven to be wasted since his mother was still sleeping off the effects of the alcohol that she had drunk the night before. She didn't even get up until three in the afternoon and as far as Rusty could see she didn't notice the file being missing.

Once he had gotten back home Rusty started to tell Raydor about what he had done but she ended up getting called out for a case and ever since she had been too busy for him to explain everything.

So Rusty found himself in his best (only) suit outside of the courtroom, hoping that he would be going home afterwards.

At least he had the entire squad waiting with him as he paced.

It took almost an hour for both sides of the case to be presented to the judge. Normally this process would have taken less time but Raydor and Cynthia had been working feverously to make the case that Sharon Beck was an unfit mother.

As Cynthia presented her accusations against Sharon Beck everyone could see the fury on Sharon's face.

She had thought that Rusty would just be given back to her without argument but she hadn't counted on Raydor and her fighting will.

Once both sides had finished normally the judge would have taken a few minutes to go over everything presented before coming back with a verdict.

But this time he had something to say.

"Ms. Beck, I have listened to everything that was said today. You have presented good arguments for getting custody of your son back while Cynthia has presented good arguments against it. But there is more evidence that has not yet been presented and I feel that it is important to the case"

The judge picked up the file that Rusty had given him.

Sharon Beck's eyes widened and her face grew more furious when she realized how the judge must have got it.

"I see you recognize this file Ms. Beck. I was given this file a few days ago by Rusty Beck when he came to my house early in the morning. According to the paperwork in this file you attempted to sell your son to Ms. Raydor, which is illegal. I can only imagine that Ms. Raydor refused this offer since we are here and she had no evidence of this offer or she would have presented it today. Rusty also took the time to enlighten me on how his life was like when he lived with you before you abandoned him."

The judge shook his head in discuss.

Cynthia looked at Raydor, surprised to hear about what Sharon Beck had offered. Raydor just shrugged as she listened to the judge.

"On the basis of all of the evidence presented to me I deny Sharon Beck's parental rights and make Rusty Beck a ward of the state."

The bang of the gavel almost drowned out Sharon Beck's cry of surprise.

But to the surprise of the court (including Raydor) Cynthia was not finished with the case yet.

"Your honor, I would like to put a petition forward to have Rusty permanently placed with Sharon Raydor. They are family already and it is the best place for Rusty to live."

The judge looked at Raydor before answering.

"I am inclined to agree to this arrangement. But there are some details that must be ironed out first so please put in an application later."

The judge then dismissed the case.

At the judge's dismissal Sharon Beck jumped out of her seat and rushed towards the door.

Raydor, seeing the anger on Sharon's face, ran after her knowing where she was heading.

"You little bas…." Sharon shouted when she got out the door and saw Rusty.

Sharon ran at Rusty and hit him in the face, knocking him down.

The squad stood up in shock but before they could react to Sharon Beck Raydor inserted herself between the mother and son.

"That's enough. Rusty did what he thought was best for him and you need to accept that."

Raydor was interrupted when Sharon tried to rush around Raydor to hit Rusty again.

Raydor kept moving to keep Sharon away and when it became clear that Sharon wouldn't stop Raydor did the only thing she could think of.

She punched Sharon Beck in the stomach.

Finally the court guards got their act together and bundled Sharon away while she shouted horrible things at Rusty.

Not that anyone was actually paying attention to her since everyone was looking at Raydor with open mouths.

Smirking at her squad, Raydor turned around to Rusty.

"It looks like you're going to be saying with me for a while longer thanks to the file you gave to the judge."

A cheer went up from the squad as Rusty hugged Raydor.

"Good. Can we go home now?" Rusty asked.

Raydor laughed in relief.

"Yeah. Let's go home."


	15. Finding his place

**Heart or Blood 15**

_*Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. My grandmother was having heart problems so I was busy helping her._

The day after the court appearance saw a large change in Rusty's relationship with Raydor.

The fact that she was willing to adopt him meant everything to him and he had finally realized that his family was here. He no longer felt the need to attack her as he used to (but he still had a habit of saying mean things without thinking). She had become his mother in every way that counts.

Though Rusty was a little scared when Sharon mentioned meeting the rest of her family. He didn't see any way that it could go well but Rusty promised himself that he would at least try for Sharon's sake.

It still hurt a little to think of his mother but after talking about it with Sharon he was sure that the pain would lessen in time.

Sharon Beck had gotten every luckily when it came time to press charges against her because Raydor refused to put Rusty through the pain of another court date. The judge decided that Sharon Beck would spend a few months in prison for her attempt to bribe/blackmail Raydor but Rusty knew that he would not be visiting her any time soon.

Rusty kind of wished that his mother had gotten a worse punishment but he knew that was just his hurt feelings talking.

When Raydor and Rusty came into the squad room they were not that surprised to see that the squad had thrown a party to celebrate everything.

While Cynthia pulled Sharon aside to discuss the adoption process Rusty took a moment to look around.

He was surprised to see that Flynn had brought a pretty little blonde with him to the party (though why this surprised him he didn't know) and they were joking around with Buzz.

Sanchez and Tao were digging into the cake that the team had bought while watching Provenza and Sykes squabble (again).

Rusty smiled to himself and thought about how close he had come to losing out on all the fun that he was going to have here.

Now if he could just get Sharon to lighten up on the food restrictions…


End file.
